How to Play Omaha Poker

To play Omaha poker, deal each player 4 hole cards instead of 2, then run the same flop, turn and river as Hold'em with the same betting rounds and hand rankings. The one rule that changes everything: your hand must use exactly 2 of your 4 cards and exactly 3 from the board. Most home games play it pot-limit, called PLO.

Omaha poker rules: what stays the same as Hold'em

If you know Texas Hold'em rules, you already know most of Omaha. There are blinds, a flop, a turn and a river, the same 5 shared cards and the same betting rounds. The hand rankings don't change, so a flush still beats a straight. Only 2 things are different: you get 4 hole cards, and how you build your hand.

Need a refresher on what beats what? This video covers the rankings and the ties that start arguments.

The 2-and-3 rule: exactly 2 hole cards, exactly 3 board cards

Every Omaha hand uses exactly 2 of your cards and exactly 3 from the board. Never 1 of yours, never 3 of yours, and you can never play the board.

Example: you hold A♥ K♥ 9 4 and the board is Q J 10 5 2. Take the A-K, add Q-J-10 from the board, and you have an ace-high straight. The 9 and 4 just sit there, which is normal; in every Omaha hand 2 of your cards don't play. The easiest way to read a hand is to try your cards 2 at a time (6 pairs to check) and find the best 3 board cards for each pair.

The 4 hands that fool Hold'em players, worked examples

1. The flush that isn't there. With 4 hearts on the board you can still only use 3, so you need 2 hearts in your hand. Rule: 2 of the suit in your hand, every time.
2. The straight on the board. Nobody gets a board straight for free. You need 2 of your own cards that fit the run.
3. Two pair on the board. You only get 3 board cards, so you only get 1 of the board pairs. A pocket pair quietly makes two pair.
4. A full house on the board. Most players can only use the three sixes plus 2 kickers, so the higher kicker wins. To make a full house you'd need a pair in your hand, like 2 kings.

The video walks through each of these 4 boards, the four-aces hand and a quick quiz you can try before the answers show.

Why four aces is a bad Omaha hand, and what a good one looks like

Four aces sounds like a dream, but you can only use 2, so it plays as one pair of aces. The 2 aces left in your hand are the ones you'd need for three of a kind, so you can never make trips, and none of the cards connect or share a suit. Against 3 other players, four aces wins about as often as K-8-5-2. On a K 9 7 4 2 board, your aces are one pair, and a friend with 9-8-7-6 makes nines and sevens.

A good Omaha hand is 4 cards that work together, like J-10-9-8 with 2 hearts and 2 spades: every pair of cards can make a straight, and it has 2 ways to make a flush. Be careful with hands that don't connect (K-8-5-2), a "dangler" that doesn't fit the other 3, and 3 cards of one suit, since you can only use 2 of them.

Pot-limit Omaha (PLO): how to count a raise

Most home games play Omaha pot-limit: nobody can bet more than what's in the pot. To find the biggest raise, count everything in the middle including the bet, add the amount you need to call, and that total is the most you can raise on top of your call.

Omaha hi-lo, where the lowest hand wins half the pot, is a different game; this page covers high-only Omaha.

Host's note: When I bring Omaha to our $0.25/$0.50 Hold'em group, I deal the first orbit face up so everybody can see their 4 cards and say which 2 they're using; that catches the one-heart flush before it costs anyone a pot. I write "2 + 3" on tape on the dealer button so the rule travels with the deal, and I count the pot myself for the first few hands.

Frequently asked questions

Do you have to use 2 cards in Omaha? Yes. In Omaha you must use exactly 2 of your 4 hole cards and exactly 3 of the 5 board cards. You can never use 1 or 3 of your own cards, and you can never play the board.

What is the difference between Omaha and Texas Hold'em? Omaha deals 4 hole cards instead of 2 and requires exactly 2 of them plus 3 board cards in your hand. The blinds, flop, turn, river, betting rounds and hand rankings are the same as Hold'em.

Can you make a flush in Omaha with one card of the suit? No. Because you can use only 3 board cards, you need 2 cards of the suit in your own hand to make a flush, even when 4 of that suit are on the board.

Why are four aces bad in Omaha? You can only use 2 of them, so 4 aces plays as one pair of aces with no way to make three aces, a straight or a flush. Against 3 opponents it wins about as often as K-8-5-2.

How do you calculate a pot-limit raise in Omaha? Add everything in the middle, including the last bet, plus the amount you need to call. That total is the most you can raise on top of your call. With 10 in the pot and a bet of 10, you can raise to 40.

Rotating Omaha into a Hold'em night? See our mixed games guide. HG Poker logs every buy-in and rebuy during the game and shows who owes whom at the end; your group pays each other outside the app. Download on the App Store · Get it on Google Play